SELLING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ) - By: Phil Mathieson

Many psychologists are beginning to question the emphasis society places on the intellectual component of intelligence: The IQ. A leader in this shift of emphasis is Daniel Goleman, who argues that an individual’s effectiveness in social interaction and communication, through self-awareness and social sensitivity, should be recognized as an equally important component of intelligence: Emotional Intelligence, or EQ.

Consider Goleman’s argument in the context of the recruitment profession. The IQ is the key to success in academic fields; Whereas the EQ is the key to success in any people-oriented field such as sales, or more specifically, Recruitment. Therefore, the recruitment industry needs to embrace the insights and analytical skills of selling with EQ

Stephen R. Covey believes that there are 5 key competencies of selling with EQ. My experiences over the 20 years I spent as a consultant have highlighted to me how essential it is for all consultants and resourcers to understand and utilise these 5 competencies in the sales process:

1. Awareness – As a recruiter, you need to be able to “See” yourself from outside yourself. You can achieve this through close observation, during a meeting, of whether or not the prospect appears comfortable with you. Great recruiters know that the key to putting a prospect at ease, is to closely observe their mannerisms, and adopt them, from volume of voice, to body language and gestures. The key point is this: People buy from people like them, because they are made to feel comfortable.

2. Restraint – I believe that the ability to remain calm and relaxed in a difficult situation is a “Gift,” because it allows us to look at problems and issues in terms of solutions, ie. We control the problem, rather than the problem controlling us. Stress or anger at a problem is basically admitting defeat; because, think about it, if you were confident that a solution could be found, what would you have to worry or get angry about? In our industry, disputes with clients (Over fees, candidate drop-offs, etc.) are a reality, and the sooner consultants learn to look at these difficulties in terms of mutually beneficial solutions, the better.

3. Resilience – I like to define resilience as “The Art of Controlling Negative Emotions,” as opposed to letting them control you. I believe that resilience is one of the most important skills for a recruiter to possess. A resilient recruiter is able to push ahead in spite of the fear of “Rejection” associated with Cold Calls. A resilient recruiter experiences three client “Drop-offs” in a month, and looks and is motivated to make improvements to his candidate management, rather than feeling defeated.

4. Empathy – The word “Empathy” is often used interchangeably with “Sympathy.” But it isn’t the same thing. Sympathy is compassion, Empathy goes a step further, it means, put simply, to place yourself in someone else’s shoes, to gain insight into how they feel, what makes them tick, and what they need in terms of service and communication. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients, and their needs and requirements will become so much clearer, allowing you to provide service that caters specifically to these needs.

5. Rapport – Working with others, relationship-building. Most recruiters are very skilled at building rapport … until a challenge arises. The truly strong recruiter- client relationship, is one that can withstand disagreements and other difficulties, through a co-operative effort to find solutions to issues as they arise. Indeed, the ability to provide solutions proves that the relationship is indeed worth it!

As you can see, the five competencies of EQ are essential competencies for all recruiters to have. Within these competencies lies the key to unlocking all the wonderful potential of your prospect and client relations. Start putting these skills into practice now, and try not to be surprised by the superb results!

Visit http://www.trtf.com.au to learn more

About the Author

Gaynor Lowndes is the Director of The Factory, a Sydney based recruitment agency that excels in placing hard working and talented individuals into the right jobs quickly. More information on Ms Lowndes can be found at her website http://www.trtf.com.au

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